In this story
A Hunter Candles store is meticulously designed to be smelt, lingered in, remembered, and recommended. The challenge for the brand was offering online customers an experience just as deliberate, curated, and memorable.
For almost a decade, Shippit has powered 95% of Hunter Candles' online volume, replacing manual carrier bookings, separate spreadsheets, and unreliable pickups with one platform that has grown as the brand has. Today, Hunter Candles ships over 9,000 orders a year across DTC and wholesale, locally and internationally, on a six-carrier mix.
Who is Hunter Candles?
Hunter Candles makes hand-poured soy wax candles from its factory in Alexandria, Sydney. Founded ten years ago, the brand has two Sydney stores, a strong direct-to-customer base, and a growing list of wholesale stockists.
“I wanted to make a candle that actually smelt beautiful and burned cleanly, which also looked great in your space. The little details matter - the scent, the glass the wax sits in, even the label and the box it arrives in. All of that is part of the experience." - Vianney Hunter, Director, Hunter Candles
The challenge
When Hunter Candles started, the courier offering was, in Hunter's words, “backwards”. Carriers wouldn't open business accounts unless a brand met a certain delivery threshold, and integrating carriers with an online store was limited at best. The brand defaulted to Australia Post, booked carriers individually, and keyed in every order by hand.
“Tracking was difficult. A lot of emails, a lot of manual searching, and separate spreadsheets to manage our own logistics. We would never know the best rate, nor the fastest option. Sometimes carriers just wouldn't show up, and this isn't the experience we want for our customers. No one likes to wait for their special packages."
The solution
After its patchwork of individual carrier accounts proved ineffective, Hunter sought a solution. Shippit integrated with the brand's website and its existing carrier accounts, putting everything in one place and opening up couriers that wouldn't accept Hunter's individual applications.
“We chose Shippit because we were spending too much time and money on multiple carriers, while giving our customers a clunky experience. Shippit was clear and prompt, supportive of our business, and open to nurture our growth with us. That's proven fruitful - we've worked with Shippit for nine years." - Vianney Hunter, Director, Hunter Candles
Hunter Candles began on Squarespace, then migrated to Shopify, then layered on plugins for subscriptions, isolated rates, and sale offerings tied to specific destinations.
“Working with Shippit is very easy. Each time, no problem. We've found Shippit to be very flexible."
Using Shippit
Today Hunter Candles runs a multi-carrier strategy with six carriers through Shippit, set to default to the best price. Over time the team has learnt which carriers perform best in which areas, and can switch manually when delivery times or regions call for it.
For a product that's heavy, glass-bound, and occasionally subject to dangerous-goods rules at the raw-material level, that control matters. When a carrier or destination needs specific documentation, Shippit flags this automatically when creating the order.
Tracking was once done manually, which was a significant drain on the team’s time - and didn’t give its customers the visibility they craved. Meanwhile, peak periods are no longer the source of worry they once were.
“Shippit is never a concern. It's integral to success in peak periods. It lets our team focus on making, picking and packing. Every single customer likes to know when to expect their package, especially when it's something as beautiful as a candle. We used to manually track each order, its carrier, journey, timing, and completion. With Shippit, it's all in one place, and we can communicate on one platform, with speed. There really is no comparison."
The results
Hunter Candles cut labour on shipping processing and reporting by 50%, gained visibility on cost per parcel, and reduced errors by keeping everything in one place. But for Vianney, the deeper value is the way the platform has scaled alongside the business.
“With Shippit, there's a monetary measure for cost-per-parcel and time saved on labour, but the real value is the ease of growing the business. Shippit grows with you. We began sending locally and small. We now send internationally (The US, Europe, New Zealand, and Singapore) and large. There's no way we'd be where we are today if we had to research and negotiate new carriers, agreements, and rates each time we grew. Shippit allowed us to start, and grow." - Vianney Hunter, Director, Hunter Candles
Asked what she'd tell another brand considering Shippit, Vianney doesn't hesitate: “Do it. Save yourself time, money, and offer your customers a seamless experience.”
Looking ahead
Over the next 12 to 24 months, Hunter Candles plans to refine and grow its B2B offering, nationally and internationally. Shipping heavy candles across borders isn't as simple as it sounds, and the brand is leaning on Shippit to make that growth possible.
As it scales domestically and internationally, Hunter Candles intends to take advantage of Shippit’s ability to send pallets for larger orders, and extend that capability to international clients.
“We need to rely on Shippit, our shipping partner, to help us grow and better service our customers."
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